Badger



' 2 Sheets-Sheet I. BADGER &SAN|PS0N. l

. Grain Bin.

No. 24,424.'l .Patented June 14. 1859.

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A Grain Bin.

No. 24,424.- Patented )une 14, 1859.

N. PETERS. Plolo-L'llhomphnr. Waxhirlgiovl, D C.

. UNITED srATns' PArENT oFFioE.

DANIEL D. BADGER AND WM. S. SAMPSON, OF NEW YORK,v N. Y., ASSIGNORS TQ DANIEL D.

BADGER, AFORESAID.

GRAIN-BIN.

Specification of Letters Patent No'. 24,424, dated fune 14, 1859.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DANIEL D. BADGER and WVM. S. SAMPsoN, both of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Agricultural or Grain Bins; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description of. the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side sectional elevation of ourimprovement.. Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of' a series of modifications of our improvement.

Similar letters of reference denote like` parts in all the figures.

The exterior shell of the elevator or building in which grain bins are placed is usually constructed of wood or brick; but the grain is generally stored in large bins of square form composed wholly of wood. These bins extend from the first iioor of the building to t-he roof; the entire inside of the structure being filled withy them. .In size they are generally made 12 feet square, andl from 20 to 60 feet high. It is evident that the safe keeping of grain within such immense bins requires that the wood .of which they are made shall be arranged in the strongest manner; and in practice this is the fact. Each bin requires for its corner support four upright beams in size usually 16" inches square, four sills of same dimensions, four plates of same size, while these are stifiened by about 30 j oists, each 6. inches square, placed' at the sidesand bottom. These are lined or sided with twoinch plank. The interior of a storehouse having bins constructed on this plan presents the appearance of an immense network of wood.

In our improvement, the bins A, are com posed of iron and: made in circular or tu,- bular form, as shown in the` drawings. They may be made nof cast iron, if desired', but we prefer to construct them of plate iron riveted in the usual manner.. The lower parts of the bins A, rest upon arches B, C, composed of brick or stone or iron, .which arches are placed one above the other, as

shown in Fig. 2; the upper surface of the upper arches B, being so fashioned as to form conical bottoms for the binsA, and

also conical bottoms for the .spaces A, be-

The centers of these conical tween the bins. bottoms are provided with apertures D, through which the contents of the bins A, and spaces A', are discharged; the aper- 'tures being providedwith suitable valves for that purpose. The arches B, C, are supported on iron columns E, and the latter are steadied by rods F. But the columns, rods, foundation ofthe building, &c., may be constructed and' arranged to suit, the builders.

Figs. l and 2, show only the lower part of our` bins. They can, of course, be made of any desired length, diameter -or height. Noframing or bracing of any kind is required. The bins are tubes, each supported independently of the others; andy being circular', they present the strongest possible resisting form. Their great superiority over the square wooden bins will be obvious. The circular bins A, when combined as shownin Figs. l, 2,leave a space A, between each set of fourbins.y This space A l forms a smaller bin, of the same utility and strength as the others. Indeed, the smaller will oftentimes prove of very great con venience for the reception. and storage of small quantities of grain, in separate lots from others, & c.

There are several very striking advantages that attend the use of our improvement.

lst'All the heavy .framing required for each bin under the oldl plan is done away with, and the space occupied" by said. framing is made available for storage of grain,

2nd. The sides yof the bin -in our plan 'may be made much thinner than under the old wooden bin plan; we thus eil'ect a further saving of available space. The comparative smallness of the bulk of` the material composing our bins is such. that we estima-te that. 25 per cent. more grain can be storedin a granary built on lthis planthan in the ordinary storehouse with wooden bins; both buildings covering the same groundl space.,

3rd'. Our bins being of tubular form, made in plates, without any framing, are selfdrawn, the outward or lateral pressure Vof.

the grain in the adjoining bins tends to cause their planking and framework to bulge outf ward into the vacant space. But the circular form of our binsl present an unbroken arch to resist such pressure.

4th. It is a well-known fact that grain has a peculiar action upon the fibers of wood, which causes it soon to rot or turn into Va dry powder. `The grain is said by those engaged in the grain trade, to take the life of the wood. To check this decay of the wood, grain-storers are in the .habit of boring the timbers of the bin frames .to admit air through the pores of the wood. This boring is generally commenced within 3 vears after the erection of the storehouse. This boring, however, is vonly a temporary expedient; for at the end of 10, 15er 2O years, the whole mass of framing and bins becomes rotten and of no value. During the whole period above-named, many extensive repairs are necessary, in addition to the boring, to preserve the bins in proper condition. Our improvement obviates the above troubles, for the grain has no injuriousactionupon iron, like that described; and there is no known reason why our bins will not be just as serviceable at the end of a centurys use as they were on the day of their erection. It is evident that no costs for repairs will be occasioned by any of the causes above-mentioned, and which form a heavy item of expense connectedV with all .the wooden bins ofthepresent storehouses. l

5th. The decay of the wood mentioned is supposed to be occasioned much inthe same manner that the common dry-rot l is produced, viz. by slight moisture or dampness and connedatmosphere. `A decomposition of* the wood, therefore, ensues which must mjuriously affect the grainV placed next to the wood, causing fermentation in the grain and which when once begun will ycontinue to progress until Vspecial treatmentis employed to bring it to an end. It is supposed that the heating and fermentation ofgrain sometimes exhibited after removal from the-storehouses, occasionally has its origin by contact withV the decomposing wood of the bins. Our improved bins .are free from all such objections, 4for the iron of which they are composed is not known to become weakened or decomposedV under the circumstances above-named, and therefore cannot impart decomposition to the grain. f

6th. Our improvement also enables us to cool olf any loaded bin, if the contents have become heated. For this purpose the spaces A need only to be emptied when currents `of cold air mayl be driven-up them by*A av blower, thus surrounding any particular'bin with a cold atmosphere; and owing tothe good conducting power of the metal of the tubes, the grain is soon cooled. If kiln-drying is desired, all-that is necessary is to introduce hot air. A portion of the storehouse may be used for the purpose of treating wet grain,'if necessary. When wooden bins are used, the grain cannot be readily cooled off or treated as in our improvement, for as the material composing the bins is not Va conductor of heat, the passage of air through adjoining empty bins would have little or no useful effect.

7th. Grain stored in our improved bins is comparatively safe from fire, which is not the case with the wooden bins. The interiorof a storehouse furnished with wooden bins presents a forest of dry wood as .fuel for a conlagration, to which the grain itself is an addition. By the use of our improvement every bin constitutes a ireproof. shield and protection for the grain within its own walls, and it also assists to the extent of its size in protecting the adjoining bins. It is believed that the contents of a granary constructed on our plan would be safe from the ravages of fire, even though exposed on all sides to the heat of burning buildings. The importance of our improvement as a safeguardfor grain against the calamity offire is very great, 'andalso as a protection from injury by storage.

Our improvement permits the taking down and removal of the bins to anyother locality, when desired. For obvious reasons this is hardly possible when the wooden bins are used. l

9th. In the use of the vwooden bins, the higher the building the stronger and more bulky must be the framing timbers and siding for the bins. But under our improved plan, the building and bins may be carried up to a far greater height-without any change in the size of the parts-than it would be possible 4to erect them of wood. Again: if, for any reason, after a granary designed to accommodate a certain quantity of grain, is erected, it becomes desirable to enlarge the bins, this may readily be done, under our improvement, by placing additional sections upon the bins. But no such inferior modifications of `the circular form heretofore described.

Having thus described our invention, We claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent,-

The arrangement and combination of the metallic bins A, in the manner and for the purposes substantialiy as herein shown and described.

D. D. BADGER. WM. S. SAMPSON. Vitnesses:

A. E. BEACH, 

